Survivor

Survivor

Demi POV 

It's a bright morning, encouraging for the first day of school. I get dressed into some jeans and a cute purple shirt, touching up my hair real quick before I run out the door. Selena and I always walk to school together; it's been our thing since the second grade. "Hey, Demi," Selena says, waiting for me outside the door. "Hey, Sel. Sorry I'm late, I didn't here my alarm go off," I say as we begin walking to school. We walk in and part ways to our classes and don't see each other again until 4th block for gym. "Miss me?" she giggles as we go into the locker room. "Dearly," I reply in a dramatic tone. I begin getting dressed and I take off my shirt when I hear a gasp from Selena. "Oh, Demi," she whispers. "What?" I say, frantic that I look like an idiot. "What happened to you?" she says, looking really concerned. "What do you mean?" I ask, now really confused. "Your back...it's covered in bruises."

Selena POV

I look at Demi's back and it's coated in bruises, as if she was being abused at home. My mind begins racing with the possibilities and I assume the worst. "What do you mean it's covered in bruises?" she asks, just as confused as I am. I take out my phone and then snap a picture to show her. "Oh no," she mutters under her breath. "What? What is it?" I say quickly. "It can't be....no it's not. It's nothing," she says really fast, dismissing the whole thing. "Well it has to be something! What happened?" "I don't know, probably fell out of my bed at night. I really don't know," she says, quickly getting dressed into her gym clothes. The rest of the day, neither one of us mentions her back and we go on like nothing's wrong. But the awkward feeling in the air and her quick dismissal lets me know otherwise. Something is wrong, very wrong.

Selena POV 

Another week goes by and there's sill no mention of the incident in the locker room. I start to doubt my instincts that she was being abused at home because I had been over her house almost every day that week and everything seemed fine. She had a supportive older sister, a younger one who looked up to her, and two amazing parents who loved and protected her. I just couldn't seem to put my finger on what was wrong. It was a b day so I didn't see Demi much until lunch time when we were finally able to talk. "So, did you hear about that movie called Silver Linings Playbook?" I ask Demi. "Oh yeah, it looks hysterical! We should see it," she says with a smile, and then takes a bite of her sandwich. "Yeah, definitely. Are you free this Fri-Demi what's wrong?!" I say, as she starts to look like she's gonna be sick. She shakes her head and puts her hand to her mouth as she runs to the bathroom. I chase after her until we reach the bathroom. I try to open the stall but she locked it. "Demi! Open up!" I say, banging on the door. I hear her puke but it's almost sounds like she's spitting. "No," I hear her say as she continues to get sick. "Demi c'mo-" but I am stopped mid-sentence as I look down and discovered that there was a trail of blood leading up to her stall. I then slam the door open, realizing what's happening, so I can give her immediate medical attention. I find her laying on the floor, white as a ghost, with her hands and mouth covered in blood. "Demi, it came back. Why didn't you tell me? You know you can trust me," I say, holding her in my arms and pulling the hair out of her face. "I didn't want it to be true...I don't want to go back to the hospital," she sobs. Demi wasn't just coughing up blood and those weren't just bruises. This also wasn't the first time it had all happened to Demi. Demi was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 8; and now it appears she was having a relapse.

Demi POV

Selena holds me until I am done coughing up blood and then she calls my mom. "It's back. Demi's relapsing. You need to come pick her up," Selena says into her phone. Then, he helps me up to the sink where I rinse out my mouth and clean myself up before we go outside to greet my mom. I continue to cough as we get in the car and Selena holds out a paper towel to my face. "Demi, are you okay?" my mom asks as we strap ourselves in. I can't stop coughing so Selena answers,"We need to get her to the hospital, and fast." She rubs my back as we drive over, trying to calm me down. I start to stress out, knowing that going to the hospital means medicine, and chemo, and the horrors of the patients who die in there every week. "We're gonna make you all better, it's okay," Selena says, giving me a hug. I nod my head as I continue to cough, but we soon pull into the hospital's parking lot. "Selena, take Demi inside. I'll be in shortly," my mom says as Selena supports me as we walk inside those familiar doors.